Connections Newsletter Archive

We discuss criteria for assessing media literacy instruction and we make the important distinction between teaching with media and teaching about media. We also report on the successes of a new “bring your own technology” initiative in a Georgia school district.

In this issue of Connections, we draw upon current research to facilitate understanding of the nature of video game play by children, and we provide tools for understanding the messages which video games communicate about the world we live in.

There’s a distinct imbalance of power between consumers and online advertisers when advertisers are able to scoop up consumers’ personal data without their permission or even their knowledge. We envision what a commercial Internet centered around user ownership of data might be like, and why media literacy education is essential.

Critical construction of media is a vital and necessary step towards digital citizenship and full participation in our media culture. In this issue, we discuss the benefits of critical media production programs for students, and demonstrate how they can be successfully implemented in K-12 schools. In our research section, we explore the theory and practice of critical media construction in schools, including the responsibilities implied by global distribution of student content. Media literacy pioneer Barry Duncan passed away in June. In our news section, we pay tribute to his foundational contributions to media literacy education. Dain Olsen, an LA Unified School District media arts educator, teaches his students media literacy and media production skills on a daily basis.

Media deconstruction lessons and activities help students acquire learning skills which can be applied in any discipline, and also help students become aware of themselves as learners. Includes an interview with media literacy advocate Frank Baker.

In this issue, we focus on the capacity of new media and communications technologies to change the direction of education in the 21st century. The Khan Academy is highlighted as well as the important roles of school librarians and principals.

CML introduced a trilogy for anytime, anywhere learning. Two e-books now available online explain why critical thinking, intellectual inquiry and student choice are essential for teaching and learning in an information age, and how the principles of media literacy education can be uniquely helpful for schools which are preparing for systemic change. This issue also includes an interview with media literacy pioneer Jean-Pierre Golay and a summary of the Obama Administration’s Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

We discuss why zombies are relevant to the philosophy and purposes of media literacy education. In our second article, we focus on the pedagogical applications of horror texts, including media production and building students’ awareness of the role they play as media audiences.

Media literacy is not teaching with media, it’s teaching about media. The difference between the two is not at all trivial, but indeed profound. In this issue of Connections, we explore the differences between media literacy and other approaches to media in the classroom. Writing within a cultural studies framework, Len Masterman helped to revolutionize the field of media studies in his 1985 book Teaching the Media. In doing so, he also articulated the core principles of media literacy education. Also, an interview with media literacy educator and scholar Gretchen Schwarz on the goals of media literacy education.

We explore the significance of the meteoric rise of direct-to-consumer drug advertising, and identify the strategies which drug companies use to increase physician prescriptions of their products. Also includes a look at how pharmaceutical advertising—like advertising for any other consumer product--encourages us to believe that prescription drugs will transform our lives.